P1.3B also set to support activation of Army’s 55th Engineering Brigade to help in city’s reconstruction.

The national government is allocating another P3.5 billion in disaster funds for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Marawi City, Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel, a member of the House appropriations committee, said Sunday

“On top of the P3.5 billion, government is also spending another P1.3 billion to support the activation of the Philippine Army’s 55th Engineering Brigade, for the purpose of aiding in the restoration of Marawi,” Pimentel said.

In the proposed General Appropriations Act for 2019, out of the P20 billion earmarked for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund (NDRRMF), P3.5 billion would be spent on Marawi, according to Pimentel.

Also known as the Calamity Fund, the NDRRMF is the lump-sum fund in the annual budget “for aid, relief and rehabilitation services to areas affected by man-made and natural calamities, and the repair and reconstruction of permanent structures, including other capital expenditures for disaster operation and rehabilitation activities.”

President Duterte in his 2019 Budget Message to Congress said he was pleased with the ongoing efforts to revive Marawi.

“The Task Force Bangon Marawi is doing a great job, as evidenced by the fact that more than 70 percent of displaced residents have returned to the city,” Mr. Duterte said.

The chief executive also reassured Marawi residents that the government would continue to look after them.

The government is already spending P10 billion this year to make Marawi livable again, complete with homes, schools, places of worship, hospitals, public markets, roads and bridges as well as basic services such as electricity, water and telecommunications.

The P10 billion represents nearly 40 percent of the P25.5 billion in the NDRRMF this year, Pimentel said.